You may be aware that your Oculus Quest 2 headset can transport you to the far reaches of space or allow you to play a round of virtual reality mini-golf with your buddies, but there are likely a number of functions that you are unaware of.
Here’s a list of some of our favorite and best Quest 2 games’ secret features that you may want to try out the next time you’re in VR. There’s almost likely something on this list that you haven’t tried before, from monitoring your fitness statistics to sending voice commands.
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1. See your Mobile Notification in VR
While many people like the peaceful seclusion that their Quest 2 headset affords, if you’re anything like us, you’re constantly worried that you’re missing out on something important in the real world.
Turning on phone notifications will ensure you don’t miss that critical text message, which will help you feel less cut off while entering VR.
You may use the Oculus software to activate this function if you have an iPhone 7 or later, or any android smartphone. Simply launch the app, choose Menu from the bottom right corner, and then Devices. You may change your Headset Settings to enable Phone Notifications (if it’s accessible, the choice should be between Controllers and Developer Mode).
You’ll be all set after you’ve followed the on-screen directions and linked your devices. You may restrict the alerts you get to certain applications and regulate how many you see using either the phone app or the Oculus Quest 2’s settings.
If more than one person uses the same Quest 2 headset, you should create different accounts so that each person only sees their own phone alerts.
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2. Cast what you’re doing to your phone or television.
VR may provide some fantastic party gaming experiences, but since the screen is only visible to one player at a time, individuals on the sidelines may be unaware of what their buddy is going through. Thankfully, you can cast what’s happening in VR to your smartphone or Google Chromecast device via the Oculus software.
To enable casting while in VR, launch the Oculus app and tap the symbol that looks like a headset with a signal coming out of it in the upper right corner (it’s sandwiched between the bell and diamond symbols).
Then choose which of your linked headsets you’d want to cast from, as well as the device to which you’d like to cast to – either your phone or a nearby Chromecast.
Once this is done, we suggest disabling the setting that allows headset audio to be played over the phone or Chromecast – this choice should be displayed on your phone’s screen. You’ll all be able to hear what’s going on if the headset audio is cranked up loud enough.
This is also a good way to introduce new gamers to virtual reality. You can coach them through their initial steps without having to guess what they’re up against or switch the headset back and forth since you can see what they see in real-time.
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3. Use Voice Commands
That’s right, you can ditch your controls and browse Quest 2’s menus only with the sound of your voice.
To get started, you must first enable the functionality. You may accomplish this by hitting the Voice Commands button in your Quick Settings panel, double-tapping the Oculus button on your right controller, or saying “Hey Facebook” while wearing the VR headset.
Those who are accustomed to Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart speakers may prefer the last way, however, you must first activate the wake word in your Quest 2’s Experimental Settings.
Whatever method you choose to wake up the Quest 2, you’ll be able to send orders like “Create a party,” “Change Guardian,” and “Open Beat Saber,” among a slew of others that can be found on the official Oculus website.
4. When you connect your sofa to VR, you’ll be able to play at 120Hz.
While we’re on the subject of experimental settings, the Quest 2 offers a few more that you may want to test out.
These options are labeled as ‘Experimental’ because they aren’t yet optimized for every gaming experience or aren’t as refined as the rest of the Quest’s features. Having said that, we haven’t had any serious concerns with them in our experience.
The 120Hz refresh rate option and the preset to include your sofa in VR are two of our favorites.
When not all VR games will run at 120Hz, those that do will look significantly better with this function enabled – albeit you will notice that your Quest 2’s battery will deplete much quicker while playing certain games.
When you put your sofa into VR, it establishes a specific location that causes the Quest 2 to instantly switch from room-scale to stationary VR when you enter it. You may go back to room-scale by standing up. This is a lot more handy approach to change your boundary settings without having to rejig them manually if you want to take a little break or switch to a different game.
5. Recenter you’re Review
This is one you may have to be aware of, but in case you haven’t, we’ve included it here since the ability to reset your perspective is a really helpful feature.
While the tracking on the Quest 2 headset is normally excellent, your motions might sometimes cause your location to wander out of place. Other times, the direction of your play space may not quite match the virtual play area of the game.
You may rapidly reset your view to resolve any of these difficulties without having to exit the session. It’s simple. Simply keep your gaze straight ahead while pressing the Oculus button on your right controller. A white circle will soon fill up in front of you, and the world around you will begin to transform.
6. Track Fitness Track
Because of the fantastic VR fitness games available, VR headsets like the Quest 2 have become an important component of many people’s daily training routines.
If this describes you, we recommend turning on Oculus Move to keep track of your fitness progress. This program allows you to keep track of your real-time fitness data, such as how much time you spent in VR and how many calories you expended.
It won’t replace the detailed fitness statistics that a Fitbit or one of the top fitness trackers can provide, but if you’re seeking a more casual way to track your progress, Oculus Move is the way to go.